Straight from the horses mouth that theres no dual audio, so hopefully that’ll end all the arguments.

Jesse

Huh. Guess we’ll need to wait and see what Namco Bandai America says, in case it’s any different. I’m buying it either way, though. ^^

Samsara09

Well,guess this is over.I am leaving.

AdamBoy64

I’m the same. I understand some people prefer Japanese audio, and that’s fine – but I’m not interested in playing a game without an English voice-track.

Theob Vious Choice

As a supporter of dual-audio, specifically Japanese audio and English subs, I know that feel. Sorry to hear that, you should definitely have the option to play with an English dub if you want to. That’s what they’ve established over time, admittedly this does mean I will be buying this title; I still think it was a bad decision on BandaiNamco’s part. Let’s hope once Zestiria comes out we’ll both get our desired dubs. As fellow JRPG fans, we should not mock eachother with “my dub is better than yours” arguments since every gamer’s experience is different.
I wish you all luck in attaining the English dubs you want in the future, I’ll be wishing myself luck to attain the Japanese dubs I want.

Ladius

We shouldn’t forget those decisions are also a matter of budget: Tales games have large scripts and tons of dubbed dialogues, and considering they decided to localize this game only after the #jrgpvita results (and reaching some kind of deal with Sony, maybe), going with a Gamestop exclusive in the US to make the distribution easier, it’s likely they don’t expect much in terms of sales considering Vita’s user base.

Of course the best option would still be to have dual audio (or even more tracks, if possible), but if the choice is getting the game with a single dubtrack or being unable to get it because dubbing it would make the localization too costly I think we can agree on the best course of action.

It’s still surprising they decided to translate the texts in the main European languages, that’s something the other Vita jrpgs didn’t do so far.

GH56734

I’d rather see more budget localizations like this for games that won’t otherwise get an overseas release than them cutting the voice acting altogether (like with Megaman ZX/Tail Concerto French release/Legendary Stafy)
or worse, going “Oh no dubbing is too expensive and it’s needed! let’s skip this game altogether” (Policenauts Saturn official release got cancelled because issues with inserting English voice acting. In retrospect, was it that big of a deal?)

Now imagine if Namco felt compelled to make an English dub for Project X Zone.

Theob Vious Choice

I’d rather just be able to play the game in Japanese with English subs, that’s all I want. I’m just saying I understand how the people who are complaining about there not being any English dub feel. Since it’s the exact opposite of what usually happens, usually they give you the English dub, and the Japanese dub is removed. Then when I complain about that, the English dub fans constantly just say that I should just deal with the dub, or pretty much act like total dicks about it in general. I’m just more or less saying to them that I know how they feel, since I’ve dealt with the same thing with most JRPGs that have ever come out since voice acting.

Tienron

but why you want subs just learn the language, why do you want an English release with just dubs that’s really selfish….

https://www.behance.net/cobaltcomet KOKAYI5

“Just learn the language”? That’s no easy feat. That takes time.

Tienron

yeah i know but yet years go past and people are still complain about how they still want Japanese dubs and English subs, let the English be English and the Japanese be Japanese.

https://www.behance.net/cobaltcomet KOKAYI5

I agree. I don’t think it’d be hard to have dual audio common in games outside of their native country. All they have to do is dubb it english and also leave the JPN voices on. Something’s added, nothing taken away.

Theob Vious Choice

I think that localized games should have both dubs, no strip of Japanese dub, and no leaving the English dub out. The other guy got all technical with the really, really rare situation where voiced dialogue is removed entirely to compensate. I think that if a game has dialogue, it should keep that dialogue. I am really just saying I understand how the people who like English dubs feel at the moment, as I have had to deal with “No Japanese audio” in many franchises a lot of the time.

As far as “learning the language” goes, I am currently playing the Japanese version of Atelier Ayesha which I imported since it was the only PS3 gen Atelier game which only had an English dub. I am learning the language, but when it comes to Japanese, it’s not as simple as just learning the sounds and the alphabet. You end up learning two separate versions of the same alphabet, which are used in entirely different situations, the grammar is completely different and then you end up getting into “kanji” which is where you legitimately need to sit down and study. I can play certain games in Japanese at this point, but I’d rather play them English subbed since I’m better at that.
I’m more or less saying it as common sense, throwing away all the bad blood in the JRPG fanbase, throwing away all the stupid cop-out arguments like budget, disc space and buying out the seiyuu who worked on the Japanese version.

Realistically: Shouldn’t it be normal for a game to be as accessible as possible for everyone? Considering there is indeed a large group of English speaking people who enjoy Japanese voice acting and dislike English dubbing, that makes it all the more reasonable. Do I think English dubs should be removed for the sake of Japanese dubs? Hell no I don’t, I think that everyone should be able to enjoy their experience on a game to the fullest, and if someone wants to play it with an English dub they very well should be able to.

I’m not talking about a single title either, I’m talking about the entire industry. It should be common sense and normal by now to have multiple dubs, even more so for companies like Nintendo who refuse to take the region lock off their systems.

In the end, I just wish people who liked both dubs could stop being at eachother’s throats about this. It’s not helping anyone, and this is coming from someone who can actually appreciate some English dubbing at times, yet heavily prefers Japanese dubs. No talks about superior or inferior, who gives a damn, it’s supposed to be fun, and with arguments like this, no wonder why this kind of stuff still exists. If the community as a collective whole wanted all dubs, we’d probably have them already.

Tienron

…..i can understand Japanese relevantly well to a certain extent that’s why i can say the things i say and i just see all these fan moaning about how japanese voices sound godly… and im like learn the language keep the Japanese one to YOURSELF and let the English version be English… im all for dual audio tho

Theob Vious Choice

Well, just because some of the fans are dicks that doesn’t mean that Japanese audio shouldn’t be in the game. “and im like learn the language keep the Japanese one to YOURSELF and let the English version be English…” and “im all for dual audio tho” refute eachother. I think it’d be best for the English and Japanese languages to both be in the same version of the game, if that were the case then maybe those people wouldn’t be so dickish all the time about “lul japanese is so much better then english”. It’s not a matter of which one is better, it’s a matter of what makes sense, and having both languages on the same game makes sense.

Warboss Aohd

maybe because i don’t freaking want to, ever think of that?

Convenience is king in the entertainment industry.

Tienron

then you shouldn’t complain about dubs then if you’re too lazy to lazy to learn but want everything subbed but its not even by yourself…

Warboss Aohd

well that and i prefer dubs in every game and anime.

i just don’t like watching subbed.

Oh and Yes, i am lazy for not wanting to drop money on lessons in another language, of which Japanese is likely the most complicated, and spend many many months learning it, of which said time and money could be spent on playing video games, like Dragon Age: Inquisition or Shadows of Mordor which will probably be out before this.

Also i’m austistic, which means God only knows how THAT would effect how easy or how long it’d be me to learn the language.

Tienron

it’s almost like people nowadays just want things handed to them on a plate and cant be bothered to gain skills themselves…

in the long run learning Japanese would be beneficial rather than not learning it and going through the same motion 10-20 years down the line.

i worked with autistic kids and the fact that you’re using that as some sort of safebait is rather undermining, because the kids i worked with were so interested in learning altho they had major attention issues.

Warboss Aohd

learning? yes, Learning JAPANESE though?

Asking me to Learn another language, one of the most complicated, Just so i can play a few games is asking too much from every person.

i live on a VERY fixed income, if i got Japanese Lessons, i could NOT buy games for a long time.

The money i’d have to spend is NOT worth the effort.

But then again, how dare i not have money for to learn a language solely for a recreational activity.

And again, i outright DON’T LIKE SUBS. PERIOD.

Also stop holding everyone to the same standard, not everyone can meet a set standard.

Tienron

i try not to but when everyone is moaning about wanting Japanese voices, i just think there is a whole full Japanese version released in japan and to be honest the internet is vast and you can get lessons for free if you really tried, plus there are meeting groups. learning Japanese to play a few games is a pretty understatement…

Warboss Aohd

Why do you want me to learn so badly?

Why?

Tienron

i agree with your statement we shouldn’t but fans ugh….cant even call them fans rush to say which VOICE is better….i think games should automatically come in both Japanese and English to just end it alll even if that means release dates are held back

https://www.behance.net/cobaltcomet KOKAYI5

Good point.

carlospsp

Why do game companies ALWAYS avoid translating their games to Portuguese? Seriously, They may not know, but there a 260 million portuguese speakers around the world, mainly in portugal/ Brazil.

Why do they keep “forgetting” us?

Brazil game market is growing exponencially, and for action games there are already companies translating their games, but just that.

Samsara09

I can feel you.Not only as a brazilian,but also as a portuguese speaker.This is an outrage,especially since spanish is in the game.

carlospsp

We have to get in touch with this Ishaan guy to know his source.

I’d really make Namco know that there are Portuguese speakers who plays JRPG . We all are bilinguals, but f*** i don’t want to think… maybe nor do you

Samsara09

Well,I am sure that soon enough we will get some representation.

persona_yuji

To be quite honest, if where I live, if the portuguese subtitles aren’t in PT/PT I’ll be cringing almost through out my playthrough. There are many games that when they say that are in portuguese, they mean PT/Brazil.
When I played Arkham City, PT/BR was forced and I couldn’t change, and it irked me whenever I saw the Joker and they said “Coringa”… it just killed it for me.
I’m all for portuguese subtitles, but if you’re going to do it, make it so that it pleases BOTH Brazil and Portugal.

carlospsp

I know that feeling. On the ps2 era, we brazilians, in the few oportunities we had to play games in portugueses, were obligated to face games in Portugal Portuguese, and although we can deal with it (as you guys do in the opposite case) but it is not the ideal way to play expecting a game in your own dialect. Godfather made me get really good at doing impressions of gajos hahahah

DesmaX

Xillia 2 is being translated to PT-BR, no?

carlospsp

Not sure, is it? So far as I know, it was just released a trailer with subs in pt-br, but nothing more, but maybe they are doing.

Namco is matching their prices with a ideal pricetag and are getting some representation at mainstream stores. They did it, impressively with Symphonia (I ended up paying more to import because I didn’t know they were bringing it officially)

DesmaX

When they do a subbed trailer, it normally means that they’re translating to that language.

But yeah, never heard any confirmation too

carlospsp

Maybe it is time to ask them directly. Tweet on the way

iamtehultimatepwnage .

YES!!!!! thats very good nice in my opinion :)

http://burnpsy.wordpress.com/ burnpsy

Even though they changed the names? >___>;

http://danierc-polloconpapas.tumblr.com/ Eduardo Rocha

Great! *u*

Ragnawind

I will only be OK with the NA release if it has english audio or dual audiio english/japanese

Ladius

To be honest I’m interested in the game itself, regardless of it being dubbed in English, Japanese or both.

Of course people have every right to have different priorities, but personally I could never skip a game I’m interested in because of those issues.

Tienron

you have a point it shouldn’t matter….but why is it that is dose matter now that it’s in english couldn’t you have played the Japanese version and used a guide.

Ladius

With all due respect, I think you can understand pretty well why people would choose to play a game in English rather than the Japanese version with a walkthrough, regardless of the dub being English or Japanese (which, again, is not something I’m overly invested in, being fine with either options).

Again, I can respect people having different takes on this matter, I simply wish we could agree on the positive of having a translated version at all, especially for a text heavy game on a low-selling platform such as Vita whose localization was initially deemed impossible by its own publisher.

https://www.behance.net/cobaltcomet KOKAYI5

If they new Vita was doing badly, why not put it on PS3 I wonder. I bet even more people would buy it.

Ladius

That would require a whole new development effort by either Namco or Seventh Chord, not to mention new or updated graphical assets to bring it near the graphical level of other PS3 Tales games. It’s a completely different matter than the English localization.

https://www.behance.net/cobaltcomet KOKAYI5

But if it sold better wouldn’t that make up for it. If this comes out on Vita then, by chance, does bad, they’ll be set back.
I don’t even think the graphics need to be reworked that much. Symphonia’s HD version looked a lot like Tales of Heart R, and that’s on PS3.

Ladius

Keep in mind people have (unfairly, imho) criticized Hearts R’s graphics even on Vita, and since it’s a recent game never released in the west it wouldn’t benefit from the nostalgia that helped Symphonia to overcome its old tech. When they ported Graces from Wii to PS3 they had to rework some graphical assets, and Hearts R would require at least the same treatment.

Other than that, there are tons of other issues like the spacing between releases in both Japan and the US, the schedule of each team (the main Tales team is working on Zestiria, and Seventh Chord likely has some other project to work on) and the fact they probably don’t have much faith in the R games considering they’re among the lowest selling Tales games ever released in Japan, and they will likely dedicate their effort to something they perceive as more profitable or useful for the franchise as a whole.

https://www.behance.net/cobaltcomet KOKAYI5

Oh well, I guess that’s how it is. Sad though. I hope since Zestiria is international, it’ll mean it’s in dual audio.

Tienron

i cant because im here thinking the game is out in it’s PURE Japanese content, yet people are complaining when it come outs in ENGLISH to have dual or Japanese only dub…i cant understand.

Ladius

I never said anything about having a “pure Japanese” release though, in fact I’m against that line of thought when it’s brought up in this kind of discussions.

What I’m saying is simply that the dub controversy doesn’t affect me one way or the other since it’s the game and its textual contents I’m mostly interested in. I like to have the dual audio option, I’m fine with either Japanese or English voiceovers if only one can be provided and, depending on circumstances, I can even settle with a voiceless localization.

Again, I fully understand there are plenty of other legitimate viewpoints.

https://www.behance.net/cobaltcomet KOKAYI5

If the whole game was subbed that be ok for me, not great but doable. But in Tales games there’s lots of times where they talk and no subtitles are there. Are they gonna put subtitles to ending battle jokes? Or to the conversation they have with bosses DURING boss fights? What about that?

Atwa

Thank you.

Leon Magnus

Thanks Bandai Namco and keep the good work.

rurifan

I didn’t like the original Tales of Hearts much, but I always support dual/Japanese audio JRPGs with my money!

SupaPhly

for some odd reason, I actually like having english voices for the Tales of games, maybe because there’s a lot of dialogue and I’m too lazy to read :P

carlospsp

I want to get my complaint archived with this bamco guys about absence of portuguese… in which account may i do that???

Max Eisenhardt

Is it seriously that hard for Media to ask the simple question of wether or not a game has Dual Audio, God Damn

Hentailover

My weeb side is pleased with this fact… But I haven’t got a
vita… ugh… why does every single console out there need to have at
least a couple of games I want?(except OUYA) I’m not made out of money

carlospsp

Get a Playstation Tv. Just 100 bucks

Hentailover

But that would lock me out of games with touch screen functionality…

Ladius

And Tales of Hearts R isn’t compatible with Vita TV.

Hentailover

Yeah, I checked that just now, so even less reasons to buy it. Vita ain’t even that expensive… it’s just kinda need to also buy… well pretty much all the next gen consoles, at this rate T_T…

carlospsp

not yet

Hentailover

Man, I wish I was one of those “console wars” people. That can pick a side and stick to it. Cause, at the end of the day, I treat consoles as means to play games, so it’s games that I want not consoles… But because of it I end up needing MORE consoles. I feel like there’s some irony here…

Ladius

There are good games to play on pretty much every available hardware, provided one has the time and money to enjoy them there’s no reason to pick a side.

Hentailover

but people that can pick the side can be happy with one console. I end up drooling over all. Like, somehow I managed to not end up getting Wii last gen, so I ended up with 360 and ps3… Now, I might have to eventually get all 3…

Takane Shijou

As it stands, Tales of Innocence R works on VTV, but Hearts R does not.

Roger

Why change the name of Shing if it won’t have english dub?lol

Samsara09

because it will have a eng dub.

Takane Shijou

I’m okay with this.

leingod

Me too. Never cared much about dubs. And before anyone calls me a weebo (or however you spell that), it goes for any dub… I’m latin american and I would also hate a spanish dubbed GTA game, for instance.

I just like to play ‘em games just as the devs intended them to be played.

tturtlejosh

I’m with you here I also speak Spanish and man those dubs are bad

Alexander Marquis Starkey

Choose your words wisely. Developers intend their games to be played in a way that as many people as possible will find them most enjoyable. The thing is, that’s not always optimal for them to make a profit.

leingod

I meant audiovisually. When voice / motion actors are chosen for a certain character, it’s because that’s the way the designers wanted him / her to look like. Most of the time (but not always) that is lost in dubbing.

A particular case comes to mind: Sakura from Street Fighter 4. She sounds like an energetic, simple minded schoolgirl in her original language, but somehow in english she sounds like a snobby rich cheerleader.

katzedan

me too, specially because english isn’t my first language and because I prefer the original voice than the english ones :)

Ladius

I didn’t expect them to provide an European Multi 5 release for Hearts R, it’s nice to see how they’re cultivating their PAL audiences. I’m really looking forward to this game, the combat system looks great.

Samsara09

Man,I feel depressed,thanks to type 0 not coming to vita.What if namco decides to ditch us if Hearts R doesn’t sell?We would be left with a vita with less than stellar rpgs,especially since SE doesn’t seem inclined to risk releasing games for the vita.

Ladius

To be honest I’m pretty happy with my Vita, for someone invested in niche jrpgs and visual novels it’s been a nice ride so far, and the recent announcements have shown how niche publishers are still believing there’s an audience there for their titles.

Of course I’m well aware this kind of releases can only satisfy a niche of like-minded players, but then again this isn’t much of an issue for Tales of Hearts R since there should still be a sizeable audience interested in the game. Unless Namco’s expectations are too high (and I don’t think that’s the case, considering how they’ve handled this game) we still have a chance to get Innocence R.

Samsara09

yeah!

Raw

Yes, Namco, you finally begin to understand. *evil laughter*

Yan Zhao

US version better have the JP voice too. A shame they still cant give us dual audio for major Tales releases like Xillia 1 and 2.

Skye Johnson

If Europe was able to get the Japanese voices, by all accounts so likely will America. It’s a good indication that the licensing allows them to use Tales of Hearts R’s voices. I’m assuming we’ll get English audio for America, since they’re changing names around. Otherwise, the subtitles would look pretty weird with the name change, and Japanese audio only.

However, unfortunately this doesn’t mean we’ll get to see more Japanese audio in the future, necessarily. Often times, localization studios simply can’t use the Japanese voice cast even if they’d really like to. Some voice actors, for instance, have a contract that don’t allow their voices to go outside of Japan, or the cost to license the Japanese dub can be prohibitive. Tales of Hearts R is also a bit older, as far as Tales games are concerned, so perhaps any contractual limits expired, and etc. Hard to say!

As always, it depends a lot on cost and what the company is legally able to accomplish. : ) I’m definitely all for dual audio releases though. Also, I believe the Vita isn’t region-locked? (Right?) So even if the US didn’t get it, if you wanted the Japanese audio, you could always import.

Freud_Hater

Oh, it won’t have english voice overs? At all? I hope there is…

Sorry, but I don’t want to read my video games.

Romored

Sorry, how do you navigate through game menus, then? Not counting all those texts that are not dubbed at all.
In Europe we’re used to read almost ALL of our games, it’s not really that big of a deal, come on.

Freud_Hater

I was referring to the cutscenes involving dialogue. And you totally knew that’s what I meant, come on.

I do admit that Europe often gets the short end of the stick when it comes to gaming, I’m just saying that it’s not a gaming experience I would enjoy.

Samsara09

People really need to have reading classes.They said it will have dual audio,not that it won’t have dub.If you need proof,why change Shing to Kor?

Manny Being Manny

Looks like you’re the one who needs reading classes.

““We received lot of feedbacks from fans to release Tales of Hearts R and today we are really happy to announce that the game will get an originalJapanese Voice-Over along with EFIGS subtitles to please all the fans”!said Hideo Baba. Thanks to this choice, J-RPGs fans will enjoy this amazing tale and dive within its beautiful meanders.”

It says nothing about a dub in the press release, and it strongly suggests its only getting a release because they didn’t have to do a dub.

Samsara09

This isn’t in the news,here in siliconera.I can’t guess stuff.I am not an oracle.try to be smarter next time,pal.

Well,it still doesn’t say it won’t get a eng dub,just that it will get a jap dub.They left it quite open.
If they won’t dub it,I won’t buy it,simple as that.We need to see it though.

Manny Being Manny

You shouldn’t make up stuff though, it never said it had dual audio.

Samsara09

Ah yes,that.My bad.Well,they always dub their games.it is weird to consider this situation.

Manny Being Manny

That may be so for the Tales series, but every Namco game that got a Gamestop exclusive release has been sub only. If they lack the budget to localize it without a partner, then it won’t be getting a large budget needed for a dub.

Samsara09

Well,then why dub Shing as Kor?Was it just to mess with the subtitles?
Honestly,none of our interpretations are proved here,at the very least.

And we end it here.A mod already posted a warming.

Manny Being Manny

I doubt they’d do an English dub and not add it to the Euro versions, so its likely the same for US release.

ivanchu77

Thank god, the awful english voices in xillia 1 nearly ruined the game for me, much better in japanese

jchill

no english voices = no buy

C4

Will buy it twice then.

http://zenkostickfighter.blogspot.com/ Zenko404

Oohh please, I need NA release with Spanish sub ;w;

Inuyakira

If the NA version is dub only!
I’m importing the European version! Big Time!
I always prefers to play my game in Japanese audio and English sub

fireemblembeast

Well, worse comes to worst, I can always import the EU version. Wouldn’t mind playing in German for a change either ^_^

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr8rI9ui7F5naA9EZdu_Kuw Cyborg Fairy

If hugging weren’t so different in Japanese culture as it were here, I would want to hug Hideo Baba and others at Namco Bandai so much right now.

Years ago I never thought that they would support Tales fans so much, and here they are localizing all these games and giving us dual audio, even though it might cost a lot of money and be very hard. I want to cry. It makes me so happy.

Thank you. Thank you Namco Bandai. Thank you so much. Even though you’ll probably never read this. I don’t know what else to say. I thought this would never happen and it makes me want to cry. I’m actually crying right now that this makes me so happy. I can’t believe you’ve done all this for us.

M’iau M’iaut

If the only thing one can post on the thread is a return to language fights — take those posts to another site.

Samsara09

This devolved rather quickly.Sorry.

carlospsp

I don’t think it is even a “language fights” or something related.

The news says as its theme the audios and subs of the game , and i don’t think port beggings or “don’t-have-money-cry” have more to do with this news than a language subject of what is in or out, if it is what is implied.

If something can be discussed of the theme, i am sure it would have to do with voiceovers quality (japanese x english eternal fight which i think it is FAR FAR FAR more useless as it is just a matter of opinion), and language requisition. Sorry if you didn’t see my point, mod. And I don’t think anyone here is fighting. The more languages (and dialects) available, the better, and if something is true, is that some languages are avoided by the companies, simply as that and i think we deserve some space to show we are unpleased with Namco attitudes toward us.

http://wiredjungle.wordpress.com/ DrakosAmatras

He’s referring to the usual Dub VS Sub quarrels, because they’re so notoriously common. And it was a general preemptive warning.

M’iau M’iaut

Welcome to the site and thanks for the response. As Drakos noted, the concern was over such limited posts as ‘Japan and their godly seiyuu’ – such posts have nothing to do with the potential benefit of translating into Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese, or any other languages. They do not bring discussion, only more tit for tat comments.

Altin

It’s like, you are able to see the Future!

Fallen_Persona

Yeah, I’m not going to lie, I looked for even a minute and I’m already tired of this. No one should be “happy” about lack of Dual Audio in a non ITL (International, IE: a company that’s culture is unassociated with a country) game.

Everybody being happy is always the best solution when it comes to this. As far as fans go. As for why they didn’t full-port it for the Vita, it’s probably just money. As in how much smaller the US install base on Vita is, it’d be risky to dub. With how Tales of Xillia sold, they’re not going to change that formula anytime soon.

Tienron

but not dubbing would only make it even more risky….

Landale

Not really. The less you spend, the less you have to sell.

https://www.behance.net/cobaltcomet KOKAYI5

But people have been waiting for it and expecting to hear their english voices. If their listening to the fans, then just have both versions.

Tienron

no…because only the diehard fans would buy it it wouldnt really appeal to outside gamers cause not everyone likes the japanese voices expect people who love the culture.

Landale

That does nothing to refute what I said. Lower costs require less sales to turn up a profit. If they’re certain they’ll make a profit on it this way, but not by spending on another voice track, then they’re not going to spend on another voice track.

You’re also assuming a binary situation: Like it, don’t like it. There’s also those who don’t care one way or the other, as well as those who can accept a compromise.

Tienron

They must have a very low sale rate cause it’s not that popular for it to be excused an English audio, i guess we will see, i’ll see buy it but i don’t see it making it much…
but lets hope they do make a profit, but i highly doubt it…

Fallen_Persona

Landale is correct. Sure, you may sell less, but if your cost is still managed by that, then that’s fine. It’s less risk, less reward vs more risk, possibility of more reward.

Tales of Heart R won’t system sell even if dubbed, so they’d have to advertise it if they dubbed it too. And that’s not only risky, but even MORE expensive. You could consider it a slippery slope.

Tienron

honestly they should of waited till after xillia before making a decision like this…

M’iau M’iaut

Usually I would agree with you, but the Vita is almost a special case. Stateside about the only thing selling on the system are the niche Japan titles, so the addition of a ENG track would not make the difference it does on a console.

Tienron

you have a point there but wouldnt a niche title only become more niche outside but i can totally see where youre coming from though

Fallen_Persona

Incorrect. Risk can be evaluated as the need to offset the cost generated by the localization. If they hired voices and re-dubbed the whole game and it flopped, they’d be in the red. Subtitles, however, are stupidly cheap overall, and can be done by only a small team members without hiring more people.

Therefore, it’s not risky because there’s very little cost invested it in the first place. It doesn’t sell well, you just cut your losses. No big deal.

https://www.youtube.com/user/LetsPlayerRPG Claytonred9

Personally I’m a huge “Tales of” fan and a native English speaker, and it really wouldn’t bother me either way. I’d still pick up the game for the story, graphics, and game play. I don’t usually discriminate against voice overs :) If its a good game its a good game the voice overs aren’t going to make the game good the game play is :)

Fallen_Persona

I’m similar. Bad voices do bother me (I’m pretty sound sensitive), but I don’t give a crap about the language they are in. Though I typically support a good dub over a good sub if only because good dubs are truly rare, and I think good localizations should be supported.

https://www.youtube.com/user/LetsPlayerRPG Claytonred9

Yeah I definitely prefer the English dub, and support it if its decent. One game that I can think of that had horrible English voice acting that was kind of a deal breaker was Arc Rise Fantasia. It was a good Wii title other than the voice acting, and was one instance that the voice overs really did bother me. I do have to agree with both yours and Landale’s posts earlier. I would also like to add that if they wanted to keep production costs low because of the Vita they would most likely choose to hire low budget voice actors which could backfire, and people would prefer the original voice acting in the end anyway.

Tienron

but this whole post is about the language so…i’m very confused…. my issue isn’t about the language itself it’s the fact that people complain when it’s in English but there is ALREADY a fully Japanese game out there in japan for them to play,
The only problem is people are too lazy to spend time to actually learn it, that’s what pisses me off japan don st put dual audio in it’s game i don’t see why this has to be something English speaking languages have to consider

Firekitty

‘too lazy’ to learn another language.

You clearly have no idea what learning another language entails, especially for a language with as complicated a writing system as Japanese has. quite a few people asking for dual audio, myself included, are actually learning the language but not up to the level of literacy a TEXT HEAVY game like a JRPG really requires…

But even if everyone asking for it knew none of the language at all, multiple audio tracks have been standard in movies since a type of media capable of supporting them was developed…and games moved to the same type of media shortly after the movie industry did…so the fact that multiple audio tracks are NOT YET STANDARD for video games is pretty sad, actually; we’re trailing behind the movie industry by a decade!

Also I should point out that quite a lot of Western games contain multiple audio tracks…Mirror’s Edge, for instance, also had Spanish and French voice overs, most of Ubisoft’s games have at least a second voice track…clearly it’s the thing to do.

And finally, ‘I wouldn’t use it, so it shouldn’t exist’ is a sad attitude to have, and shows poor regard for your fellow human beings.

Tienron

if there is dual audio *clap clap* and im all for it but japan dosnt use dual audio in most their games… if the option is there so be it.

darke

You do realise that people, such as myself, use subtitled games, animation, movies, tv-shows, and so forth as a means of learning this ‘other language’?

Or are you just being ignorant because you can be?

Tienron

using a game as a mean’s of learning another language is just as ignorant, still not enough to make you actually watch it raw thought right?

darke

I do watch it raw. But I can’t understand all of it, so I also watch it subbed to check whether my interpretation of things was ‘correct’. Yes, that means I watch the same thing multiple times. Repetition is at the heart of learning things after all.

And apparently you don’t know this, so you are as ignorant as you appear. Please go and learn a second language before you complain about commonly accepted language learning techniques.

ZEROthefirst

While I’m extremely disappointed that there won’t be an English dub track (believe it or not there are people who prefer them over subtitles) I’m still glad that Hearts R is getting localized… even if it’s not as good as it’s original DS version. Hopefully it sells well enough in both Europe and the U.S. to let Namco know there is an audience for the Vita Tales games in the West and bring Innocence R over and dub it at the very least.

Malon

I’m all for it.

Guest

I guess I’ll be importing the European version, since it is a Vita game and you can actually PLAY the games for the system you bought. I say this as a proud owner of a Vita and a 3DS, Nintendo should step up their game there, I’ve heard their excuses and they’re bullshit.
There’ll be an English dub, don’t you worry; North America will be enjoying that one and that one alone. I don’t believe Namco will continue to make the right decision even after the Tales of Symphonia remaster had dual audio. Hell, Namco’s dubbing policy was a big part of why I started to learn Japanese, that, and the fact that so many mangalure/LN anime ended up with no fan translations of the source material, which meant I could never finish the stories that were cut off. I’m sure North America will give us an English dub and nothing else, that will happen for sure.

I don’t mind English dubs, I don’t enjoy them and I don’t play JRPGs with only English dubs, but I don’t think a localization should be without one. I just want the option simply to play a game with English subs and the original dub, that’s really all it amounts to. Good luck on getting your dub, it’d be nice if common sense applied to both sides in getting what they want.

DivinePhoenix69

It’s great that they are adding Japanese voices and subtitles in multiple languages for those who want those features, but if they aren’t going to dub this in english then that’d be extremely disappointing honestly.

JuVu

This was literally the best announcement thus far in E3, in my opinion. Can’t quite fathom yet that this might actually be true. Freaking FINALLY. Symphonia Chronicles was a wonderful start, and now this? I’m so happy about this.

Samsara09

Hey,can some mod watch out for this page?it seems namco confirmed it won’t have a dual audio.It is jap dub,with subtitles.Things may get hairy here.

carlospsp

No good….

Landale

We’ve been watching. That’s why M’iau M’iaut posted in the first place. You’ve also not really said anything not already known that would have us needing to watch in the first place, that is specifically what the article already states.

Samsara09

Well,the article isn’t clear.Now it is.Ah,you are a mod?Oh well.I am leaving.Cocky mods are not with me.

Kornelious

That’s interesting, I hope the US version will have English dub so we can all just buy the US version…Though if the US version is already gonna have English dub why not just put it in the European version…So I’m worried

Though the fact that the game is releasing at all is still good news, so we shall have to wait and see……

https://www.behance.net/cobaltcomet KOKAYI5

I’m not bothered by English voice work. They’ve been done well since the late 90s. But I’m glad they’re listening to the fans who DO want it. As long as the game is full of a deep story and I can understand it, you can expect my money.

Rafael Martines

Namco sometimes I hate you… sometimes I love you… thank you… I hope the NA version have the same treatment. Finally!!! until now three tales games without dub *_* I don’t hate american voice actors, I hate dub… for example I can’t play japanese God of War It’s horrible… or even Uncharted on my own language (brazilian portuguese)

Romored

Three? I only remember Symphonia and this… Which is the third one?

Rafael Martines

Symphonia is two games :P

Romored

Ooh, okay XD I was thinking of “releases” more than “games”.

DesmaX

Uncharted dub were pretty bad, tho.

At least Sony got better now at dubbing. Pupetteer has an amazing VA

http://twitter.com/puchixseda puchinri

Well, I think I know what version of the game I’ll be watching for.
Did they also confirm Shing’s name change?

Ladius

Yes, Kor is mentioned in one of the new screenshots and in what I assume is the latest press release (can’t find a direct source, though).

Coudln’t give two shits what language it’ll be in. Does it annoy me? Then I turn the sound off, problem resolved. I’m interested in the game, not their language.

Brandonmkii

My brother is deaf, and he thinks it’s really silly to see people arguing about the language thing when he’s just in it to play the game.

jaggery

wait a minute..only japanese voice overs…? then what’s the point of change Shing’s name to Kor if they will call him Shing in game!?

Zoozbuh

Soooo… they change and butcher all the names for no good reason (Kor Meteor changed, Kohaku Hearts no change), and then force us to play with the original voice track, which will say all the original names. Great. That’s the only thing I really have an issue with, I wouldn’t have minded the JP track otherwise!

Ladius

They changed a single name in the whole cast, Shing’s, the others retain their Japanese names afaik.

Tienron

no….no they don’t shings, gallalds and richeas name was changed.

HououinKyouma

Thankfully they confirmed this, I love Shing’s Japanese voice way too much.

Elemiel

If there’s not going to be a dub, then what was the point of changing Shing’s name to Kor?

Skye Johnson

This is, as far as this article is concerned, only news for the European release. So the USA’s script might vary a little from Europe’s, and use the name Kor (especially if there’s going to be an English audio in the USA), whereas Europe might not be changing the name at all to gel with the Japanese voices. They still could change it of course, but it would look a bit odd, considering how different the two name choices sound!

Nothing you couldn’t get used to, though.

http://Youtube.com/Dyjuan1 Rising Overlord

I don’t think I’m the only one who don’t like reading ever sub that comes up when I’m trying to enjoy a game. Most of the time I’m proSUBS but this time idk. I may just wait and see how it plays out.

MrJechgo

Wait, what? No dub? Really now? They take the time to localize the text, which they DID for ToX1 FYI, but won’t bother adding an English audio track?

*sighs*

Wish adding dub would be written somewhere as mandatory when it comes to localizing Japanese games…

Ladius

We should consider there’s a big difference in terms of sales expectations and localization budgets between a mothership PS3 Tales game and a Vita remake they wouldn’t even have localized without the #jrpgvita results, Sony’s pressure and a low-risk strategy which included the exclusive distribution deal with Gamestop in the States.

Tales games have huge scripts and tons of voiced dialogues even compared to most other jrpg series, and considering how much they can hope to sell on Vita the choice was probably to skip it altogether or to release it with a Japanese dub track in order to avoid the costs of the English recording.

Having the texts translated in five languages is quite something, though, especially considering this is one of the few Vita jrpgs with that feature.

Tienron

but only die hard fans like japanese voices the majority of Americans don’t like it

Landale

Do you have numbers on that? And what of the people who are fine either way? And the biggest question, given the nature of the article: Do you have those numbers for Europe?

https://www.behance.net/cobaltcomet KOKAYI5

But what about in battle? There won’t be any subtitles there. How will I know what the characters are saying? In most Tales games they even have whole conversations in the battle (especially when it’s over and they do jokes).

Ladius

Symphonia Chronicles (and Project X Zone, just to name another Namco release) had subtitles in battles, so I imagine they could do the same with Hearts R.

https://www.behance.net/cobaltcomet KOKAYI5

Ok, if they do that I won’t cancel my reserve at Gamestop.
I didn’t know about Symphonia doing that, what was it the HD version? I didn’t think they did that Toukiden wasn’t done that way, not Black Rock Shooter.

Istillduno

Saying this as both someone who’s been wanting to see the origional voices in Tales games since they got me into anime and as someone who just wants to see more Tales games get localised full stop…

Sweet, definite day one buy here.

ALfromHELLSING

I always prefer English dub over Japanese dub, but it’s never a delabreaker to me. I’m playing the game for the story, characters, gameplay, soundtrack not just to listen to voiceover. So I’m okay with this, pretty sure Zistiria will have English dub. Also, in this case we all know how well Vita is doing in the west so there is your answer.

Hopefully some kind of special edition will be announced later. Would have been awesome to get one.

DawnWolf

I already own Hearts R in Japanese, and as such really don’t have much interest in Japanese audio. Going to be very dissapointed if the NA version doesn’t have English dub. Will I still buy it? Yeah. I just won’t enjoy the title as much. Tales dubs are always good and the actors tend to bring their own hilarity the characters.

https://www.behance.net/cobaltcomet KOKAYI5

If you have the JPN version, why buy it twice?
How do you like the game?

DawnWolf

English is my native language. It’s the language I think in and the language I most prefer to be around (as well as the only one where I don’t speak like a child :<), and as such I prefer my games in English when given a choice. I import usually to satisfy my curiosity of the story in general, I buy the English versions for full enjoyment of the world. Not to mention I can read faster than a snail when I play the game in English…

As for how well I enjoyed the game… it's actually really good. For one thing the story is awesome (*cough cough* Hisui/Jadeite is a hilarious *cough cough*), but just as good is the game play. It takes some time to get used to, but once you learn how to manipulate the new mechanics (counters, aerials, etc.) it gets really fun. The only complaint I had with the game was the sound effects… which sound like a PSP games. By that I mean… it's not that they're low quality, it's just that… as opposed to hit effects like the ones you'll hear in Xillia, Vesperia, etc., the ones in Hearts are more like… Uhhh I don't know how to describe it, but when you play it you'll get what I'm talking about. Another pet peeve was how the hit effects themselves look, but thats nothing too major, and is more a personal problem.

https://www.behance.net/cobaltcomet KOKAYI5

I think I get your point. Like the sound effect doesn’t match the action taking. Two swords clanging sounds more like two huge pipes clanging. Like that?

Keko

Day one buy.

Toankun

please dont make this be a trend Namco although i do understand the reason why you did this… well i guess something is better than nothing

Nick Sniezek

It seems likely that the Japanese voice actors will be in the NA release. However, we’ll have to see for sure.

MrTyrant

will the american version have japanese dubs?

http://youtube.com/miyabigaming 禍津水樹 (MagatsuMizuki)

Ya

MrTyrant

Cool.

epy

Mm, carte blanche is a wonderful thing, huh?

Landale

Hmm?

bob

That’s gonna be a big download, I hope Gamestop isn’t the only one in the states carrying the cart version.

Edit: Whoops, I thought they were dubs, not subs, oh well.

Namuro

Noice!

PoweredByHentai

Do we know when the US version of Tales of Hearts R is coming over?

http://youtube.com/miyabigaming 禍津水樹 (MagatsuMizuki)

Ya and it’s subbed

PoweredByHentai

Okay, so when is it coming out in North America? I’m asking because I don’t see it listed on Amazon. =/

I get why they are doing it….but I’m sad that there won’t be an English Dub available. I can put up with it, but I may not be as into the story without it…and I hope the add subtitles to the Post Battle dialogues.

awat

this is just so sweet :) thanks baba&namco <3

http://hanzoadam.tumblr.com/ Hanzoadam

Looking forward for it got a my pre-order down a few months ago

Kai2591

The future is good for the Tales series. Amin.

And another game to get if I ever get a Vita.

Raspberry

thank you based Baba. We all should be happy it’s getting localized at all.

Nicholas Perry

Good, Now just go back and fix those ridiculous issues that didn’t exist in the original version for the DS

NeptuniasBeard

Seems like the game WILL be dual audio. So… yay!

Jesse

I’m seeing conflicting statements on this all over the place. ^^;

katzedan

Well, as a fan of anime and japanese VAs, I’m totally okay if it has only the japanese audio.
As a non english native, I would be okay if it had only english voice, like I was with Graces and Xillia. (And I don’t even ask for it to be released in my native language because I know it’ll never happens! and even if it had, I would play with any other language xD )
As an old gamer, I’m totally okay with any kind of voice. xD

Serious, since I love the Tales series, I would take this game without any dub without a problem.

After all, I still prefer to play the game in a language I can understand than never play or pass it because I’ll never understand the story :(

So let be happy that this game is coming to us all and we can play this without have to spend one or more years trying to learn a new and somewhat hard language! :D

Kornelious

Looks like it’s official, The game will have Japanese audio only…..

I actually don’t mind to much, I will admit that I would have LOVED to hear Bamco’s choice for English voice actors, but I’ll live…the fact that we are getting the game at all is still amazing :)

I personally just hope that the Playstation TV will be out in time for me to play this on the big screen!

And hopefully there will be a Limited edition, because boy do I love Limited Editions! Especially Tales Limited Editions :D

Izzeltrioum

So, yeah. FF fans argue that X was the latest top-notch entry of the series, and start listing their all-time favorites while bashing on Toriyama and his beloved Lightning saga. Now, Tales fans, got a similar fit that surpasses NIS’s “hell no you better japdub everything west-released”, and goes even beyond the border than that certain discussion about Cheria’s Innocent Garden’s TREE (Yeah, the tree at the background) F’s version vs Wii version, and how it lacks decent rendering and whatnot.

Stay classy, people.

On-topic: And the big question is…

Are both Quest Clock and Infinite Evolve apps getting a release too? I still play them sometimes.

raeldor

I envy those who haven’t played this game yet. I had a great time playing it on the beta. I thought it was much better than Tales of Innocence R.

Triplicity

Uh, then why did you change the main character’s name? That’s fine, but real silly.

Rose Spinoza

Okay. So I’ve been thinking about this for the last few days, and My theory is that when translating/localizing, they do it with the assumption that the game will get a dub.

Kaihaku

Hmm… Too bad, I decided not to own two handhelds.If this were being released on a system that had Fire Emblem on it I’d pick it up for sure. Figures it gets localized now that it has a Vita version.

Hentailover

It’s fairly clear that it was his opinion. Contrary to popular belief, people don’t have to add “IMO” everywhere, as most of the time it’s clear that they are expressing their own opinions, for, that’s the only opinion they are qualified to express in most given situations -_-

Ryo-kun

Japanese voiceover with their godly seiyuus >>>>>>>>>>> english dub.

Get over it.

Izzeltrioum

I thought people got over this already. They released Infinite Evolve to fill such gap. I know I know it doesn’t have your waifu KOS-MOS or Klonoa, but holy grinders has this been discussed (and fitted) to death. Cameos needed the lower DS screen to be triggered and to, somehow, apply them to the vita screen, would’ve caused a massive dose of GUI burden during combat.

Of course I still can’t understand why they ditched Richea Katleya… and still can’t get over it lmao but, honestly, this game has more ups than downs–Totally worth the purchase believe me.

Hentailover

Even as a sub supporter, I have to disagree with such blatantly false claim. People like you give bad name other people, that tend to prefer sub over dub for less stupid reasons.

ZEROthefirst

Opinions are opinions, fact.

DivinePhoenix69

Yes because there is no such a thing as terrible Japanese voice acting right? This is exactly the type of silly bias that annoys me from sub fans. They pretty much hate on anything that isn’t voiced in the “glorious and superior language of nippon!”

These are people who have appeared in Tales dubs. These people are also considered some of the best voice actors currently in the industry.

Not doubting the quality of the Japanese actors, but unless one of said seiyuu is Kumiko Watanabe I’ll stick to the language I understand.

FitzpatrickPhillips

lol No

Firekitty

Dude, stop that. You just make the rest of us look bad, and give the trolls fuel against us by being a dick about it.

I mean, I’m a little smug, too, but better to be polite about it while they get a taste of their own medicine, and hopefully they’ll return the sentiment by supporting us next time the question of dual audio comes up.

M’iau M’iaut

Let’s not rely on wiki links, please. All it does is send the wheel back around. Thanks.

Samsara09

Ah,sorry!
it does?

Shippoyasha

There can be bad Japanese dubbing but very rarely. I have only heard them coming from tertiary characters.

PS- I am happy it’s coming and I hope they get as many language options as possible. Would rather get it free in-game than being a language pack if possible.

Firekitty

There may be, but it’s rare, just as I would say that actually ‘bad’ English voice acting is extremely rare.

Dubbing a piece of media into another language , on the other hand, is typically of lower quality no matter what the new language is, simply because of the contraints inherent in the process.

There are certainly many talented English voice actors, and many of them got their start in dubbing…but they typically move on to original roles pretty quickly, while the ones who stick around eternally doing anime dubs are the ‘budget’ actors.

Not that Japanese dubs of English language media are any better…have you ever heard Ratchet and Clank in Japanese? Don’t try it, it’s not even funny-bad, it’s just awful.

M’iau M’iaut

Please note that I long ago asked for these arguments to end in this thread. We are just repeating the same endless lines of opinion. It would be the ‘opinion’ of many that the likes of Yong Bosch, Troy Baker and Jamieson Price are far from ‘budget’ actors. Since we will not resolve the Civil War with this talk alone, please just move on.

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